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Karsten, Christel and I were lucky enough to see Peter Lincoln's first solo concert in Friedberg (Germany) on Friday evening. During the last twenty something years, Pete has also performed countless 'human juke box' solo gigs, entertaining audiences of all shapes and sizes in pubs and clubs, at weddings, parties, social functions and dances. This concert in Friedberg was his first solo-show in Germany.
Enjoy our livve video mix below!
Camera by Karsten Wagner (c), published with kind permission:

Message from SAILOR:
"SAILOR is thrilled to officially announce to fans, followers and friends that Oliver Marsh is rejoining the band as lead vocalist and guitarist with immediate effect.
Having devoted the intervening period to honing and perfecting his sensational operatic vocal skills whilst enjoying huge acclaim in the contemporary and classical field, Oliver is returning to render SAILOR's hits in his own inimitable style - with the added promise of show-stopping moments from opera, which in the past have provided such great finales for SAILOR concerts.
We must also convey our sincere gratitude to the wonderful Nick Parvin, whose musical contribution, dedication and enthusiasm was a huge asset for SAILOR and we genuinely wish him all the very best for his future plans and career. He will also be writing to you all shortly (see below).
In the meantime Oliver will be on stage with Phil, Henry and Tom on 28 May 2011 in Waren an der Müritz (D). Be there!
Henry, Phil and Tom"

Here is a message from Nick Parvin:
" I would like to thank all the dedicated SAILOR fans for their acceptance and generosity they have shown me over the past two years during my time in the group. I have had enormous fun and met some wonderful and interesting people along the way. It has been a privilege to play these songs with these fine musicians and friends. SAILOR is a unique and special band, both musically and socially and the pulse of camaraderie (and humour) that is often lacking in other groups beats strongly at the heart of this one.
I wish the boys the very best as they sail off into new waters and know that Ollie will once again step into the Captain's role with enormous power and enthusiasm.
Special thanks must go to Katrin for her unfailing dedication to all things maritime!
Sail on, SAILOR.........
Nick xx "

Announcement from SAILOR - 25 February 2011:

SAILOR are extremely sad to announce the retirement of founder member Grant Serpell, although of course we fully understand his reasons for leaving at this time.
(Please see below a personal message from Grant to all SAILOR fans.)
We shall all greatly miss him and especially his unique contribution to the band over the years.
However we are also very excited to announce that for the rest of this year, Tom Marsh will be returning to the drum stool - as many will remember he did so spectacularly well last year during Grant's leave of absence.
Phil, Henry & Nick

A message from Grant:

" After considerable deliberation, I have made the decision to vacate the drumming stool in SAILOR.
I was privileged to be a founder member of the band in 1974, and am proud to say that I played on all live concerts except during the difficult time in 2009 when I had an operation on my injured right hand.
Over the years, being a member of the band has brought me great joy and satisfaction, as we have shared a wealth of experiences. One of the many strengths of the band has been the consistently high standard that I believe we have maintained in our live performances. In this context, I would like to express my respect and admiration for those wonderful professionals with whom I have had the pleasure to share the stage.
SAILOR is, and always has been a unique musical entity, initially inspired by the creative imagination of Georg Kajanus. But its uniqueness owes an equal amount to the enthusiasm and expertise of Henry Marsh and Philip Pickett. I believe that particular mention is required with respect to Henry, in making the instrumental sound not just a reality, but a feature of the band, and to the expertise and intuitive understanding of vocal harmony that Philip provided. These factors, allied to the amazing instrumental and vocal abilities of these three enabled SAILOR to capture the hearts of so many people. It has been, I hope they will agree, a team project, and I hope that I will be remembered by my colleagues as a good team player.
Thanks are also due those people who have also been members of SAILOR over the years. I thank them all for their friendship and professional commitment. It is an immensely difficult task to replace the lead singer in any band, but we have been so lucky in finding, in turn, Peter Lincoln, Oliver Marsh and Nick Parvin, who have fitted into the band both professionally and socially. I owe particular thanks to Oliver Marsh for providing me with, by far, the most moving moments that I ever experienced on stage during his immaculate renditions of "Con Te Partirò". I never let them see my tears!
I am now the ripe old age of 67, and need the freedom from professional commitment to enable me to pursue my desires to travel and also to play more competitive golf ----- so many SAILOR gigs are at weekends, which conflict with the competition calendar at Temple Golf Club!
I must also express my thanks to Mark Portlock, who has been our Sound Engineer for many years. A good sound engineer is an essential for any band and Mark has always maintained the highest standards in his work.
Katrin! What can I say? You have been such a wonderful supporter of SAILOR for over 20 years. The website is your baby, and we could never express enough our appreciation of the work that you have done for the band both on the website, and also in your enduring support of live performance. I'm so glad that I managed to hang on for your one hundredth gig!
SAILOR would not have lasted for so long if it had not been for the enthusiasm of our fans. If there is one aspect of performing that I will never forget, it is the appreciation shown by our fans during live performances. There is so much joy in SAILOR's music and this was always reflected in the faces of our fans wherever we played.
Finally, my thanks are due to my darling wife, Michelle, who has supported me emotionally and at times financially during my career as a professional musician. She has, so many times, risen at some unearthly hour to deposit me at the airport, and infallibly been there the next day to pick me up.
Thank you all so much.
Grant Serpell "

As, at the moment, I don't know what to say, just this:
We'll horribly miss you, dear Schlagzeuger... Thanks for so many shows and years of music and fun and special memories.
All the best and LOVE
~Katrin X

Oh, and by the way, I also met another ex-SAILOR during my brief little holiday in England:

Georg and me - London - 09 February 2011

Some days ago, during a brief holiday in England, I was lucky enough to witness the first concert of an extraordinary band in Tring. The band is called Landing Party and it was formed by former SAILOR member Rob Alderton and his friend Ian Robertson. Together they have written 13 stunning instrumental tunes for their first album and have put together this 7-piece-band which is just pure fun to listen to.
Rob says the only rule when it came to picking the band name was that it shouldn't be anything nautical... and yet the majority ignored his wish and so the name Landing Party was chosen.

SAILOR fans might well remember the place of the event where I witnessed their first concert: the Court Theatre in Tring (England).

Anyway, the webmaster recommends:

"Landing Party - A celebration of Britain’s rich musical heritage…
Local musicians Rob Alderton and Ian Robertson are joined on stage by accomplished musicians from the worlds of folk, rock, musical theatre, classical and jazz. This eclectic ensemble produces a new and exciting sound which sees British tradition cleverly merged with other styles.
Rob (known from the band SAILOR and as a West End keyboard player) and Ian (well known in the world of Scottish music) have written a catalogue of traditional sounding tunes (from reels to airs) which have been arranged with influences including Latin, Rock & Roll, even Calypso!"

If you're interested in a copy of the album, please e-mail me to info@sailor-music.com.

You can also become a fan of Landing Party on Facebook and also watch some video bits of their first concert at: www.youtube.com/LandingPartyTheBand

Landing Party ( l-r ) Andy Pearce, Mark Lloyd, Ian Robertson ,
Rosy Le Good, Rob Alderton, Chris Woodham, Mike Taylor

Well, yesterday was my 100th SAILOR show and also my birthday. So it was a very special occasion...
Have a look at this little video piece if you'd like to see more about this:

CHAMPAGNE !!!

Together with Henry, Nick and Grant.
(Phil couldn't be there for the 100th anniversary photos, so the other SAILORs decided to replace him with the wooden thing in the middle!)

Playing the "does she know all the 100 dates that are written on the back of her shirt" game...
(The answer is: yes!)

Well well well... if all goes well it will be my 100th SAILOR show today... and on my birthday.
This is so weird that I still think that something might go wrong. Especially seeing the present snow- and weather-chaos we have here.
Let's see what happens in Hildesheim on 03 December 2010. Time to 'sailor-brate'??!!

This Wednesday from 8pm - 10pm German time (7-9 pm English time) our radio show from last Wednesday featuring Karsten, me and special guest Rob Alderton will be broadcast online at
http://www.okwestkueste.de/wk/hoeren/livestream/index.php
The station called 'Open Channel Westcoast' repeats Karsten's weekly show 'Handmade' from the Free Radio Kassel.
Listen online if you can and... enjoy!

 You can now see the first new photos and a video of SAILOR's concert in Essen (D). More to follow soon at our page about the concert: Essen, Germany - 13 November 2010

We had a great time and enjoyed the long and exhausting show (SAILOR were on last at 1 am) with many other lovely fans. A bit like a little family-reunion...

From this week on, you can buy lots of great new SAILOR merchandise at the new homepage of Werner Blessing:

www.sailor-shop.de

Werner is a German SAILOR fan who decided to take over the new SAILOR online shop (you can see him in the middle of the SAILORs on the photo below). Via his online shop you can now get shirts (also see photo below), cups, posters and many more SAILOR merchandise. Enjoy!

And by the way, I'll try to post stuff here again from time to time. If anybody notices that the blog is back??

It's 10 years ago that SAILOR - then in the line-up with Peter, Phil, Anthony and Grant - played in Dortmund (Germany) today.
14 or 15 bands and singers in 8 hours. That was a fantastic idea of the promoter... NOT! Neither for us in the audience nor for any of the bands and singers. Some had to leave again after only two or three songs. At least SAILOR were on as the penultimate band of that show, so they got a longer set, but it forced us to stay and stand for (the usual Oldie Night delay included) about 10 hours... ouch!
If you'd like to have a look at the photos from this day again, go to the "Concert Photos" section or just click here: Dortmund, Germany - 29 January 2000

As mentioned previously this blog has been so silent recently because nothing is happening. Therefore I have no idea what to write about, apart from all my "Today in the SAILOR history" bits which I think may bore you all to death already.
I saw a message on Phil's official website/blog the other day, saying: "Lots of new shows coming in - will all be updated by Jan 21st - check back". So far I checked back but I'm waiting for the update... so keep an eye on the 2010 concert dates on the News-page very soon!

In the meantime...

It's 6 years ago that SAILOR - then in the line-up with Peter, Phil, Rob and Grant - played in Munich, Germany today. A big concert with many bands and singers at the huge "Olympia"-hall.  
Karsten and I travelled to Munich by train and landed in the biggest ever snow chaos... and then in the biggest hotel we've ever seen (and the most expensive one)!
SAILOR's show that day was quite short but very enjoyable, especially as we had press tickets and were able to take photos from the press section in front of the stage. Behind the stage there was a huge screen which made the SAILORs look a lot bigger too - especially Peter. 
Afterwards we spent a marvellous evening/night at the hotel with Peter, Rob, Phil, Grant and "NaylorMan".
On the next morning we got the original Charango from SAILOR (used on songs like "Panama", "Vera From Veracruz" etc.) because our good SAILOR-friend Andreas got it at the auction and we were to pick it up for him and kept it until we saw him next.(Never travel through half of Germany by train with a Charango on your knees!!)
If you'd like to have a look at the photos from this day again, go to the "Concert Photos" section or just click here: Munich, Germany - 25 January 2004 

And with a 6-year delay I happened to find some video bits of this concert in Munich earlier today and thought they were so funny (even though bad quality)... Especially some hotel bits of Karsten demonstrating the hair-dryer saying "not bad for somebody with hair" and some nice concert extracts, filmed from the press section of the Olympia-hall. ...Those were the days. Here it is:

It's 7 years ago that SAILOR - then in the line-up with Peter, Phil, Rob and Grant - played at a New Year's Eve Oldie Night in Mainz. Germany today. "A Glass Of Champagne" at midnight - what more could one want?!
If you'd like to have a look at the photos from this day again, go to the "Concert Photos" section or just click here: Mainz, Germany - 31 December 2002

 Thankyou all for your support during the whole of 2009. We hope you continue to enjoy the SAILOR club website. Please keep coming back to us here at www.sailor-music.com in 2010!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

16 years ago on this very day
We first met the Sailors and watched them play
At this concert we were right in front which was sage
Because after the show Henry brought us backstage
So we meet all the Sailors, and it felt all so grand
To be able to see Georg, Henry, Phil and Grant
Even Ollie was... there, and Peter* as well (*with Shaky)
Although then, both of them had no Sailor story to tell
Who'd have guessed one day they'd both do the Captain's job
And who would have guessed we'd meet someone like Rob
Or Anthony - who both always did what they can
On the left side of the good old Nickelodeon
Until Henry returned and then later Peter went
So that then we had Captain Ollie in the band
After him, Captain Nick came and joined the old crew
So that Sailor sail on in 2010, great and true!

Thanks boys!  xXx

It's 16 years ago that SAILOR played in Dortmund, Germany, at a big Oldie Festival at the Westhalenhalle today.
At this concert we got to know the band, thanks to Henry who invited us backstage after SAILOR's performance. So this was when all the trouble started...!  Just kidding. In reality this was when all the fun started, as well as a long journey at sea to many different harbours around the world.
If you'd like to have a look at the photos from this day again, go to the "Concert Photos" section or just click here: Dortmund, Germany - 30 December 1993

You think that's all? No...
Exactly one year later - which means 15 years ago today - SAILOR returned to Dortmund and to the same venue to play another show of the Christmas tour with Harpo, The Searchers, Smokie, Showaddywaddy, Chubby Checker and Suzi Quatro.
Another very special day for us because we were able to return to the place where it all started, and also because we found an old friend again whom we had met and then lost one year before: Inka, who was a big fan of Smokie then and helped us to survive concert number one - plus a lot of things afterwards until today!
If you'd like to have a look at the photos from this day again, go to the "Concert Photos" section or just click here: Dortmund, Germany - 30 December 1994

It's 15 years ago that SAILOR started their Christmas tour in Germany in Hannover today. This concert was the first show of the two weeks tour of SAILOR together with several other "Oldie" bands and artists, namely: Harpo, The Searchers, Smokie, Showaddywaddy, Chubby Checker, Suzi Quatro.
If you'd like to have a look at the photos from this day again, go to the "Concert Photos" section or just click here: Hannover, Germany - 27 December 1994

Merry Christmas everybody !!!

And also from the SAILORs, in case you haven't seen their message yet:

The boys wish all SAILOR fans a very Happy Christmas and lots of happiness and good music in the New Year!
Lots of love from
Nick x
Grant x
Henry x
& Phil x
...And we look forward to seeing you at one of our increasing number of shows throughout 2010 (and at Neubrandenburg on New Year's Eve!!!)

As you've probably noticed I have neglected the website and especially the blog-section for a few weeks. There are several reasons for this, but I don't want to bore you with them here.
In any case I hope you have already seen the Christmas message from SAILOR to all the fans that I've posted on the main page together with the Christmassy photo they took at their recent concert in Kiel, as well as the marvellous new official band photo...
What do you think? :

SAILOR played a fantastic concert in Lippstadt last night and delivered more than their usual amount of fun and entertainment, even in spite of some serious techbical problems (inlcuding a complete loss of data on Phil's keyboard so that the bass sounds had to be reprogrammed at the very last minute by Henry). Phil had a little belated birthday party after the show and we had a really great time. Thanks boys!
I have added just two photos for the moment, but there will be more plus hopefully a little 'best of' video. But for the next couple of days I'm taking a short break (holiday time at last!), so please come back soon to see more.
In the meantime, here are a the first impressions:

Many thanks to all of you who have sent birthday messages to me for Phil yesterday! Phil says he was very touched by the many birthday messages - they really have made his day!

And, as usual...

It's 5 years ago that SAILOR - then in the line-up with Peter, Phil, Rob and Grant - started their Holland tour in Egmond aan Zee today.
This concert was the first show of the two weeks Holland tour of SAILOR together with The Rubettes (featuring Alan Williams).
We had lots of fun travelling to the concert with Christel, Andreas and Linda. (5 people in my poor old car? Oh my god...!) Our friend Andreas even brought Georg Kajanus' original Charango that he had won by an auction that year to the concert and got it out during "Vera From Veracruz", causing some confusion...
If you'd like to have a look at the photos fand a video rom this day again, go to the "Concert Photos" section or just click here: Egmond aan Zee, Holland - 20 November 2004

It's a SAILOR-Birthday today... HAPPY BIRTHDAY Phil Pickett!!!!

If you want to leave him a birthday greeting, please e-mail to info@sailor-music.com and the messages will be forwarded to him!

And...

It's 15 years ago that SAILOR played in our hometown Kassel (Germany) today. Yes, further below you read the same already, but they really played here twice in one week in November 1994... and then never again.
This concert was very special because it was Phil's 48th birthday. Many many fans had come from all over Germany to see SAILOR at the annual Oldie Night. Afterwards many fans also came to the hotel to meet the band and celebrate Phil's birthday.
If you'd like to have a look at the photos from this day again, go to the "Concert Photos" section or just click here: Kassel, Germany - 19 November 1994